Convertible bulldozer or shovel



June 3, 1952 G. T. sHoosMsTl-l CONVERTIBLE BULLDOZER OR SHOVEI..

4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 20, 1948 A Hor/leys June 3, 1952 G. T. sHoosMlTH 2,599,491

CONVERTIBLE BULLDOZER 0R sHovEL.

Filed Sept. 20, 1948 4 Sheets-5heet 2 F/GS.

A Horne v5 June 3, 1952 G. T. sHoosMlTH 2,599,491

CONVERTIBLE BULLDOZER OR SHOVEL Filed sept. 2o, 1948 4 sheets-sheet s June 3, 1952 G. fr. sHoosMlTH CONVERTIBLE BULLDOZER OR SHOVEI..

4A Sheets-SheetA Filed Sept. 20, 1948 Attorneys kur Patented June 3, 1952 CONVERTIBLE BULLDozER on s'H'ovEL Guy Taite Shoosmith, Chislehurst, England Application September 20, 1948, Serial No. 50,139 In Great Britain September 3, 1947 13 Claims.

This'invention relates to bulldozers.

There lare many occasions where a bulldozer is used that material has to be picked up and deposited elsewherea job for which the bulldozer is not designed.

. The invention is yconcerned with the modication of the'bulldozer to enable it to be used, when desired, also as a shovel. f

Bulldozers are available today which can be converted for use as power shovels by dismantling the blade and replacing it by a shovel. 'I'he conversion is an operation which takes up a lot of time and is one which is not intended to be effected at frequent intervals.

A suggestion has also been made to provide a tractor with a composite blade pivotally mounted on the front end of a boom so that it could be brought into a more or less vertical position and into a more or less horizontal position, the blade acting as a scraper in the one position and as a scoop in the other. A machine of this type suiiers from the disadvantage that it is eilicient in neither of its two roles.

The machine in accordance with the invention can be used as a bulldozer or as a shovel without any dismantling or replacement of parts and is equally eiicient in each of its two roles.

The invention consists of a bulldozer having a boom which carries the usual blade and also carries an attachment which can be swung down in front of the blade to serve as a shovel Vand up into an inoperative position in which it; lies on top of the boom and allows the blade to be used in the ordinary way.

The shovel attachment can be a complete shovel in itself, that is to say, have a base plate, a back plate and a pair of side plates but, preferably,.it has only a base plate and a pair of side plates, the bulldozing blade forming the back plate when the machine is in use as a shovel. It is usual for a bulldozer blade to be provided with narrow side plates or cheeks and, in the preferred form of machine inaccordance with the invention, the side plates of the shovel attachment provide those cheeks `when the attachment is in the inoperative position.

Thev blade can be designed and mounted without regard to .any consideration other than its effectiveness for its primary purpose, viz.: that of pushing loose material in front of it. The shovely attachment can be similarly designed having regard to its function and can be mounted so that the boom provides the reaction abutment when the machine is in use as a shovel. The combination bulldozer-shovel according to the invention can, therefore, be'equally efficient in either of its two roles. The shovel attachment can be mounted on simple pivots and requires only a simple'pivotal movement to bring it into and out ofj its' operative and inoperative positions.

This movement can be effected bythe operator" without involving any dismantling or replace-4 ment of parts and, therefore, the machine can be switched from onek role ta another without; waste of time. Mechanicalmeans can be proa vided for swinging the shovel'a-ttachment from oneposition to the other but such means,y are not, essential as the attachmentV can be. sor'balanced that it can be turned `quite easily byhand.

The machine in accordance with the invention can be put to many diierent uses. It has, however, been designed particularly for .Y handling such materials as loose coal, One loffthe important problems which it has solved is that of expeditiously trimming ships cargoes.

In order that the invention may be thoroughly understood an example of a bulldozer in accordance with it will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:v

Fig. l is an elevation of the machine. Y

Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine.

Figs. 3-5 are detail viewsshowing the boom and its blade andshovel in diierent working positions. n t I y The bulldozer shown in the drawings is of a usual design having a pairof tracks l0 arranged round sprockets I 2 driven by an engine I4 housed in the body I6. The body supports a boom I8 which is pivotally mounted at 20 and which can be raised and lowered by meansnot shown in detail in the drawings but comprising a pump 2| which is controlled through a valve 22 having a control lever 24 situated within reach of the operator who sits on the seat 26.

At its front end, the boom I8 has fixed to ita frame 28 which carries the blade 30.

The above-mentioned arrangement of parts is; The blade 3i!"I serves to push loose material before the machineand can be brought into the lmost appropriate-f position by altering the inclination of the boom...

In order that the machine may be used for:

common to all normal bulldozers.

picking up material as well as pushing materiali before it, a shovel attachment 32 is providedi. This attachment has a base plate 34 and a pair: of side plates 36 but no back plate.. The side; plates 36 are mounted on pivots 38 projecting inwards from a pair of brackets 40 on the frame 28. The shovel attachment 32 has two positions viz.: an inoperative position shown in Fig. 4 andv an operative position shown in Fig. 3.

. In the inoperative position, the shovel attach-v ment lies on top of the boom I8 and allows the. blade 30 to be'used for dozing in the ordinary way. It is completely out of the way and does not interfere at all with the normal use of the blade. It is not unusual for bulldozer blades to be provided with side cheeks which prevent the material which is being pushed along from escaping round the ends of the blade. Thefside,`

plates 36 of the shovel attachment serve to form such side cheeks when the attachment is in its inoperatiYe position as shown in Fig. 4.

In its operative position. the shovel attachment is'swung downi'n front of the blade as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It is retained in that position by the abutment of a pair of stops 42 on it( against a pair of stops 44 on the Vframe 28. It forms a shovel together with the blade 30 which closes the space between the base plate 34 and the side plates 36. In order to ensure that this space will be properly closed, the blade is provided along its lower edge with an adjustable part 46.

In order that the contents of the shovel may be dumped, the stops M are mounted so that they can -be moved out of the Way of the 'stops fili. As can be seen `from Figs. l and 2, each of 'the stops 44 is pivotally connected to one ar'in of a bell crank 48 mounted on the frame 28. The bell cranks v4B Yare connected to two further bell cranks 50 in the frame 28 by rods S2 and the bell cranks 5B are connected to springs 54 which tend to keep the stops r44 in the position shown in Fig. 2. In order to turnrthe bell cranks against the action of the springs 54 and retract the stops M, a pedal bar 5 is provided which connects the upper ends of twopivotally mounted'ar'ms 58y which are connected to the bellcranks 50 by links 6i).` h

Fig. 3 shows the machine prepared for use as a power shovel; Inhorder to pick up a load such, for example, as loose coal, the machine is advanced so that the shovely slides, on the ground beneath the pile of coal'. When the shovel has received its loa'd'lthe b oom l8 is raised by the operator bysetting the lever 24.A The loadcan then be transportedy to any desired place, In order to dump the load, the operator'depresses the vpedal 5,6 so that the stops 4,4 are withdrawn, whereupon, the front end of the shovel is lowered under the weight of the load as shownin Fig. 5;:

'Whenthe load has been dumped and the shovel is, to b e re-set inthe position shownV in 3, it isnecfessary only to release .the pedalv 56j and lower thejboorn.. When the shovell touches the ground, 'it will be swung on its pivots ,38j and its .stopsv 42 will force the stops 44; backwards against the action of the4 springs 54, the stop being providedi with;'roundedv noses as shown at 62. Thestops M-thenu engage below the stops M and the shovelriS again ready lfor (use,

iis/men themaehine is 'to be used for buireezmg, tha'tls to say,push1`1fg theA material before it, the shovel attachment is'movled'jout' of the way by being swung on its pivots 38 backY into the position showninjFig; 4. This movement of the. shover can b e effected quite easily byV hand 1f, asv is shown in the'drawings, theshovel-'is reason ably balanced about-'thev axis'ofj its'l pivots. nl: terraitively,Y a si'lrple- Va'rran'gement lof a A cable passing overl one cuiv more pulleys near the; drivers seat can be arranged to enable the driver toeffect the reversalwit'hout; leaving; his seat;

It will beappreciatedl thatY thfe` provision of the shovel attachment doesn'ot involve Vany veryky majr alteration of thenormal bulldozer. The weight on the Yfront endoftheboomr is;V of course,v increasedby'- theA shovel attachment but that can be compensated by' a counterweightj 'v'lon the rear end" ofjthe boom. K

It will, alsoA bel appreciated" thatt'h'e' provision o fi'v thej shoveli does" notA adversely affect' thief' emciency of the bulldozer` when the latter is used' Cil 4 in its primary role of pushing material before it. Furthermore, the shovelling eiiiciency is not adversely affected by the presence of the blade which together lwith the boom provides a positive reaction abutment for the shovel.

I claim:

l. In `combination with a bulldozer having a `boom supporting a fixed material pusher blade; a shovel attachment comprising a base plate fixed between spaced side plates near their outer ends, said side plates embracing the pusher blade, and pivots connecting the side plates near their inner ends with the blade, the distance between the axis of the pivotsl and the upper edge of the blade being less than the distance between said axis and vthe inner edge of the base plate whereby the shovel attachment may be swung 4from inoperative position in which the base plate rests upon the top of the boom in rear o( the blade, into operative position in which the base 'plate underlies the blade extending inadvance thereof, said blade forming the reajction abutment of the shovel attachment when inoperative position. v I

2'. In a combination asset forth in claim 1, lsaid 'side plates forming checks at the en 'ds vof the blade when the shovel attachment ls swung into inoperative position.

3. In combination with a bulldozer having a boom supporting a fixed material pusher blade; a shovel attachment -comprising a base plate xed between spaced side plates near theirouter ends, s'ai'd side plates embracing the pusher blade, pivots connecting the sideplates near their lxi'ri'er ends with, the brede, the 'distance between me' axis of the pivots and the upper edg'e, f the blade being less than the distance betweeih'sfai'd axis and the inner edge of the base plate whereby the shev'ei attachment may be swung from inoperative' position in which the baise plate rests upon the top 'of the b'oo'm in` rear.' 'of the blade, into operative position in which the base plate underlies the blade,- same extendiig'l in afdvance thereof and' substantially parallel with the sai'c boom, said blade forming the raction abutment' of the shovel attachment, and reif l'easable' means foryieldably retaining the shovel attachment in said operative positi'cin.

fl.. In a combination as forth claim 3, seid-. side', mates4 .forming cheeks: et @defends of the. blade' when the, shovell'attcliit is' svv'lil' me@ rneperativepesitie;

e. In e combination essen feriti; in claimA si. said. retaining means. e'einprisirig 'exea stops' airiee. by. theA shovel, attachment; edaptedte erin'ally underlie rl'as'able' stops the tiene.,

- s; 1n; eeibinationwitn a. buiidz'e nai/ing. e bc'oni supporting a" ffaine'earrying, a.

prising-K a base plat" plates near their o'iitl ends.. said. si'cl.' plates enbraeingjtne. pusher. blade. pivots" rieetrtg the kside plates.. rie'r'; their' inner ndswtii the, lame, listened between. ni/artis ef. meppen/and. tielppe. edg'eef. trie-trade b'eig rees', the distee' between said xseci inner, e1'ge1- ef., trie base plateffwrierebfl the' Shel/ela ita'hmemmi .be swung .fmeterse tive position. in which` the base. plate. rests, upon;- theftopbf. thev boo'r'z'i. in. ran of th'ejbld.. into, operativepo'sitionfin which the, base plate unde thegbie'de. seme; extending adre tir fj eine Sutstantiauy parairei with the. sind boem', said blade' forming the reacti'en abutment' of the shovel attachment, means for retaining the shovel attachment in said operative position, and means for releasing said retaining means whereby the weight of the material on the base plate will pivot the base plate downwardly.

7. In a combination as set forth in claim 6, said side plates forming checks at the ends of the blade when the shovel attachment is swunginto inoperative position.

8. In combination as set forth in claim 6, said retaining means comprising fixed stops carried by the shovel attachment adapted to normally underlie releasable stops carried by the frame.

9. In a combination as set forth in claim 6, said retaining means comprising fixed stops carried by the side plates adapted to normally underlie retractible stops carried by the frame; and said releasing means comprising a lever pivoted on said frame, and means controlled by said lever adapted to operate said retractible stops.

10. In combination with a bulldozer having a vertically pivotal boom supporting a iixed material pusher blade; a shovel attachment comprising a base plate fixed between spaced side plates near their outer ends, said side plates embracing the pusher blade, pivots connecting the side plates near their inner ends with the frame, the distance between the axis of the pivots and the upper edge of the blade being less than the distance between said axis and the inner edge of the base plate whereby the shovel attachment may be swung from inoperative position in which the base plate rests upon the top of the boom in rear of the blade, and into operative position in which the base plate underlies the blade extending in advance thereof and substantially parallel with the said boom, said blade then forming the reaction abutment of the shovel attachment, means for yieldably retaining the shovel attachment in said operative position when the boom is lowered to bring the base plate into contact with the ground, and means for releasing said retaining means when the boom is raised, whereby the weight of the material on the base plate will pivot the base plate downwardly to discharge the material in the shovel attachment.

11. In a combination as set forth in claim 10, said side plates forming checks at the ends of the blade when the shovel attachment is swung into inoperative position.

12. In a combination as set forth in claim 10, said retaining means comprising fixed stops carried by the side plates adapted to normally underlie retractible stops carried by the frame.

13. In a combination as set forth in claim l0, said retaining means comprising fixed stops carried by the side plates adapted to normally underlie retractible stops carried by the frame; and said releasing means comprising a lever pivoted on said frame, and means controlled by said lever and connected with said retractible stops.

GUY TAITE SHOOSMITH.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

